


And Scene

by cnell



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-14 22:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cnell/pseuds/cnell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy explains how he stopped George Wickham.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Scene

"So I've been watching the Domino videos," Lizzie said, out of nowhere. "Can I ask you something?"

The question made Darcy hesitate between one step and the next. They were walking down a suburban street on an overcast Sunday afternoon. Barely a week into their relationship, they had only just started to talk about the events of the past month - Lydia, George Wickham, the website.

"All right," he said at last, and gave her hand a light squeeze.

Lizzie kept her eyes on the sidewalk. "What exactly did you do to George when you were taking the website down?"

"Perhaps it is best if you don't know, Lizzie."

"Good lord," she said, half-joking, "you didn't have him killed, did you?"

"No, of course not. It's just a delicate situation."

"That won't do, William." She came to a stop, tugging the lapel of his coat until he faced her. "He exploited my sister. I need to know if I have to worry about him reappearing the moment my back is turned."

Darcy's face darkened at the thought. "He will not be back. Not without bringing a world of trouble down on his head."

They were across the street from a small park wedged between beige houses. Lizzie pulled him over to a bench, sat down and gazed at him expectantly.

After a moment, Darcy sighed and sat down next to her. "George Wickham is serving a sentence of house arrest and mandatory counseling, not to mention a heavy fine. He risks going to prison if he approaches either of our families again."

"Wow. You managed all of that?"

"Essentially, yes."

Lizzie frowned. The early spring air was still chilly and she wrapped her sweater more tightly around her. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but why were you driving around Orange County trying to find him yourself? Couldn't you hire lawyers and investigators for that?"

"My legal team was quite busy, believe me," Darcy said. "We approached Novelty Exposures the day you left Pemberley Digital, and they were holding out for all they could get. My involvement was... Well." He looked oddly embarrassed. "I think you may laugh at me, Lizzie."

She bit back a smile. "Always a possibility, I'm afraid."

He reclaimed her hand, idly brushing his thumb over her fingers as he talked. "You see, George could have easily stayed hidden until it was too late, but I thought he might show himself if he knew I was looking for him."

"Why?"

"I've known him all my life. Ever since we were children, he has imagined himself as the tormented hero of his own personal action film."

"Aha," Lizzie snorted. "Hence the Batman reference. And let me guess, you are the evil wealthy businessman determined to bring him down."

Darcy's lip curled. "None other. He could never resist a melodramatic scene with me. When I ... found him with Gigi, he drew the confrontation out as long as he could. Walking away as she broke down in front of me must have been everything he could have hoped for."

"And I was so quick to believe his story," Lizzie said. She grimaced at the bitter taste in her mouth. "I gave him an audience and brought him straight to Lydia."

"He targeted you for your audience," Darcy insisted. "Whatever he may have felt for you or your sister, I believe it was the camera that interested him the most."

They fell silent for a moment, collecting themselves. Marigolds bobbed in the breeze at their feet. 

Darcy cleared his throat. "Fitz had a vague idea where George might have gone, so I set off after him. I was trying to find a way to broadcast my intentions when Gigi beat me to it."

"Domino. Right."

"The demo did not go according to plan, to say the least; but once the second video auto-uploaded, there was no going back. I wanted to pull Gigi off the project, but she refused. I think she wanted to make George's role in the scandal as public as she could."

"So, wait," Lizzie said, leaning in to watch his expression. "George was _watching_ the videos."

Darcy nodded. "He knew what I was doing. He even left clues for me. He wanted me to find him - but not until time had almost run out. He wanted to make me desperate, and he succeeded."

She exhaled sharply. "He called Gigi. Because he knew you would see it."

"Once again I had failed to protect her from him. It made him brazen, even reckless. By the time we tracked his location he was all too eager to face me."

"You met him in person?"

"And in public. We arranged to meet in a run-down bar on the outskirts of town. It was in the evening and he was wearing sunglasses. The cliche was almost unbearable."

His sardonic tone masked the rawness in his voice. Lizzie waited.

"I asked him to help me take the website down. I said I would do whatever it took to stop it. I appealed to old loyalties, family, friendship. It was no use. George claimed I had never cared for him. He said I destroyed all his hopes and drove him to a life of debt and crime by refusing to replace the college fund he squandered. He demanded $100,000, and likely more when that ran out, or he would release a copy of the tape."

"I thought he sold all the copies to the company."

"It's possible he was bluffing. The material point is that he tried to extort money from me, and I caught it on tape."

Lizzie's eyes went wide. "Hold it right there. You went in there wearing a _wire?"_

Darcy shrugged, a bit red in the face. "He wanted a scene out of a crime thriller. I gave him one."

Her laughter rang out over the park. She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my god. No, I'm sorry. This isn't funny. This is in fact very serious. Please continue."

"It was all the police needed. George was arrested, and my lawyers supplied a lengthy file of his criminal history, which he had managed to keep hushed up until now." The trace of amusement faded from his face. "Lydia is by no means the only woman he has exploited. I'm sorry, Lizzie. I should have put a stop to this a long time ago."

She smiled grimly and rubbed his arm. "Tell you what, let's both agree to stop blaming ourselves for George Wickham's decisions. He had no right to treat people this way, I don't care how angst-ridden he was."

"At any rate, that was the end of the website. Not even Novelty Exposures could handle a viral Internet scandal linking them to a proven con artist. They sold at a bargain in exchange for our silence, and we tracked down and destroyed every copy of the tape."

Lizzie allowed herself a moment to savor the relief from that particular worry. She reached up to straighten Darcy's collar. "So George missed his chance to gloat over you, poor thing."

"Not entirely." He covered her hand with his, pressed over his heart. "He knew why I was there, Lizzie. He wasted no time in saying I had lost you forever - along with other things I do not care to repeat. At the time I thought he was right."

"Well." She moved closer and slid her arms around his neck. "He wasn't."

She kissed him there on the park bench, in full view of nosy neighbors and passing cars. His fingers tangled in her hair. It was romantic comedy material. The thought made her laugh against his mouth. "What are your plans for this evening?"

"Nothing in particular," Darcy murmured.

She stood and tugged him to his feet. "Come hang out for a while before dinner. I have a video to film and I don't think my viewers have seen enough of you."


End file.
